Like Father, Like Son
by Chocoborider92
Summary: A reporter/journalist tracks down Vincent to ask some questions to prove her theory. Is she able to learn the truth? ONE SHOT! (May write more and turn into full length if reviews are good) Vincent X Lucrecia X OC


Rhetoric 101

Image Essay

1 November 2011

**Like Father, Like Son**

PLEASE read and review! I know Vincent is a bit out of charcter, but it suprises my OC as well. This was a paper I wrote in college 8 years ago (against my professors advice, but still managed to pull a B-) :D

ENJOY!

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I walked along a stone path in the city of Midgar, briefcase in one hand as the other hung clenched to my side. My nerves began to twist and turn within me as I approached winding stone steps leading to the place which held more importance to my journalism career than anything I had ever encountered. The wind wisped my auburn strands in front of my face and I was thankful that I had decided to pull the rest back. This wind would have made it a mess.

The empty Shinra building that once stood as the most powerful source of electric energy for the city lay in ruins, having been neglected for years. I walked past the caution tape surrounding the large building and stopped at the double doors, breathed a heavy sigh, and pushed them open in front of me. Inside the empty corridors, I gasped in surprise. I knew the building had fell prey to a terrible explosion of five years prior; I had been on the scene. Still, I hadn't expected the damage and desperation that the burnt building held within the forbidden walls. I stepped over isolated weapons and piles of debris before opening a door that led to the lower levels of Shinra: The research department. I knew I would find him here, still brooding over what was lost. I walked down the steps leading to the cursed section of Shinra and immediately saw him. There, standing in in the corner was one of the most powerful men on the planet: Vincent Valentine. Of course he spotted me before I saw him and already had his handgun drawn before I stepped off the bottom stair. My heart skipped a beat as I raised my hands in defense. I found my voice stuck in my throat as I struggled to make a sentence. Finally, he spoke. "What is your purpose for coming here?"

The harshness of his voice made my heart hesitate once again and I came back to my senses. "I know you that you know who I am…you always choose to ignore my approaches, but I am here to ask you a few questions." Vincent lowered his gun with as he began to speak. "The persistent reporter. I remember you." I snapped open my briefcase and pulled out a remarkable photograph of the man standing in front of me and another man engaged in an epic battle. The man opposite Vincent was the most evil being that the planet had ever known. Sephiroth held his long silver sword above him as Vincent aimed Cerberus for his head. At first glance, the photograph seemed to hold little to no importance, but upon further investigation the similarities seemed to outweigh the differences. The shape of the eyes, the strong build and defining jaw bone were almost identical. As I held the photo in front of me, Vincent's face fell as his gun had seconds earlier but in a blink of an eye, his composure was regained. An amateur would have missed it. "I'm here for only one reason Mr. Valentine, the truth. Sephiroth was not only an experiment gone wrong. He was the son of the infamous scientist Lucrecia Crescent, your former lover. Sephiroth is your son, and I am here to prove it." Vincent glared at me for what seemed like hours until he finally breathed a long breath of defeat and closed his eyes. "Your theory is correct."

As I sat opposite Vincent in a metal chair, notebook in hand, I studied his main features: Dark hair, crimson eyes, and dressed in red attire. I wondered why he looked as if he hadn't aged in thirty years. "I haven't" he replied to my question. I gave him a puzzled look as his serious demeanor broke into that of a smirk. "Perhaps I should explain myself from the very beginning." As a young man in my early twenty's, I dreamed of becoming part of the company that my father had so diligently worked with for years. A few years prior, he had died as part of an experiment gone astray. Instead of dwelling in the past, I decided to use my anguish for good and pickup what my father had left off. But I quickly learned that I was not intended to be a scientist. My skills that were lacking in science were strong in firearms and speed; I was the ultimate Turk. I quickly climbed the ranks and became head of my team, but as soon as I met her, nothing else mattered."

I could not believe Vincent Valentine, the man of very few words was choosing to open up to me, of all people. "Her?" I asked him to explain further. "Lucrecia, the reason for my existence. I was put on special orders to supervise her and her project at all costs. As I became closer to the woman, I found myself falling in love with her more and more every day. It became easy for me to guard her life, to put my own life on the line for her. As time passed, our relationship grew stronger, yet she became more distant. I found her to be more troubled than ever before. Then finally, I found out her reasons. She had been coworker with my father on the project that had ultimately caused his death. The news devastated me. I felt betrayed and used, thinking Lucrecia only wanted contact with me because of my relation to her former work partner. Although the information bothered me, the effects were worse on her. She distanced herself from me completely and found herself in the arms of the most powerful scientist within Shinra: Hojo. I couldn't imagine my life without her, so I decided to confess my love to her."

"I remember that day…standing on a bridge on the outskirts of Midgar in the rain as I gained the courage to tell her how I truly felt. As I professed my love, Lucrecia stood there stoic with no emotion. For the longest time I stared at her daring her to say anything to calm my shaking nerves. But she couldn't. She could only stare at me. I didn't know at the time, but I mistook her despair for pity. I didn't hear her refusal; I knew without her telling me that she would deny her love for me. I knew it was there. I could see it in her eyes. She wouldn't let herself believe that she loved me, so she walked away in tears back to the man she could never love, yet found herself engaged to."

With that, Vincent stood up ready to depart. I quickly stood up too. "Wait! You haven't told me all I want to know." He glared at me under his dark hair, "I think you know the rest." I hesitated before shaking my head. "That didn't stop your love did it? You two couldn't depart from one another. You continued to meet in secret. That is why Hojo decided to experiment on Lucrecia's baby…your baby Sephiroth. He made him into an air breathing monster that would try to take over the world because he knew it wasn't his. That made him angry, so angry that he totally lost all mentality, making Lucrecia host her unborn child as an experiment, and shooting you. But that doesn't tell me why you have never aged since." Vincent paused in disbelief, and then slowly shook his head. "Lucrecia saved my life back then before sealing herself away from the world by making my lifeless body into an experiment and planting elements." He replied, "She planted elements inside me that caused me to never age."

"But now that I have explained to you the history of Sephiroth's existence, I want to know how you can prove these things I have told you" he said as he sat back down on the metal seat. "I know these things because of records. You reportedly locked yourself in a coffin inside the basement of Shinra Manor because of the undeniable sin you created, meaning you couldn't stand knowing that you helped create the monster Sephiroth was becoming, and after many years you decided to help defeat him to redeem yourself. Although you knew defeating him would make you commit another sin, you had to stop him from destroying the planet. That explains the Photo." He smiled once again. "You're very smart. I knew that stopping Sephiroth was my debt to pay, and I paid it."

I once again jotted down the information he was sharing with me so diligently in an eager writing frenzy. I was amazed at the information and felt honored that he was sharing his story, the story I had been trying to get for ages with ME. I was so lost in my writing, that I did not see him stand, walk over to my seated form, and snatch the small notepad out of my hands. I stared dumbfounded at him as I watched him tuck his newfound possession in his pocket. "Hey! That…that's mine!" I stood in front of him, anger etched on my face. "Why share your story with me if you were just going to confiscate my notes?" Vincent huffed what sounded like a small attempt at a chuckle and blinked. "I chose to confide in you, not share my story with the world." The mysterious man had me flabbergasted. I didn't understand it one bit. What made me so special? A journalist who was not important in the least to Gaia, or even my team. Everyone at work found me to be insignificant. A beginner at best. Only I saw my true potential. I had to know. "Why would you choose to talk to me?" Vincent looked into my eyes and for the first time since I began conducting this small interview, I was frozen by his beautiful features. His eyes held me in place and I felt my palms begin to sweat. He finally spoke and I was even more confused. "Because you asked."

After my interview with Vincent Valentine, I reveled in my newfound knowledge. Vincent is Sephiroth's father. Although Sephiroth had silver hair and green eyes opposed to Vincent's black hair and crimson eyes, they have the same facial features that are undeniably present, and Vincent's history diminishes all doubts. Also, Sephiroth and Vincent have similar personality traits as well, such as overtly isolating themselves and their stoic persona. As I walked away from the old building, I thought of Vincent's last statement before our departure, "Although he was a monster, he was proof of our love. I couldn't see that proof destroy the planet. I was indebted to him for not stopping Hojo when he decided to use him as an experiment. In stopping his rage and destruction, I proved my love as a father, if only to myself. Like father, like son."

R&R please! Thanks for reading


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